Unit: Literary Devices
- 43 slides total
Literary Devices
Part 1
What makes a story short?
Short stories are brief works of fiction
in which a character faces a conflict
that is resolved in the plot of the story.
Think about a 30 minute sitcom on TV;
some sort of conflict occurs, but it’s
always fixed by the end of the show
Two important questions…
1) What is a conflict?
2) Why does every short story need to
have a conflict?
Conflict
The problem or struggle in a story
that triggers the action.
There are 5 basic types of conflict.
Types of Conflict
1. Man v. Man
2. Man v. Himself
4. Man v. Society
3. Man v. Fate
5. Man v. Nature
Internal Conflict
Man v. Himself / Herself
Any struggle or problem that is
going on within the character.
How would we know a character
in a story was having an internal
conflict?
External Conflict
Any struggle or problem that
involves the character and any
other person, thing or unknown
force
– Man v. Man
– Man v. Nature
– Man v. Society
– Man v. Fate
Besides conflict, every short story
needs to have a series of events
that somehow connect to build
the story.
What is this called?
(Hint: It’s made of 5 elements)
The Plot!
- The action or sequence of events
in a story
- It is usually a series of related
events that build up on one
another as the story develops
Plot Line
Climax
(Crisis, turning point, point
of no return)
Falling
Action
Exposition
Resolution
1. Exposition (the beginning)– The
background or situation
surrounding the story, setting,
characters
2. Rising action (introduction of
conflict) - the series of struggles
that builds a story toward a
climax, the main conflict
introduced
3. Climax (the high point)– the
turning point, which marks a
change, for the better or the
worse, for the protagonist
4. Falling action (winding down)
– part of the story that works
out decisions reached during the
climax
5. Resolution (the ending or
denouement) – is part of the
story in which the conflict is
solved or resolved
Ok, so now we have a plot with a
conflict – what else does a short story
need?
Let’s talk about characters…
Protagonist – Main, or focal,
character in conflict with the
antagonist
Antagonist - The person or thing
working against the protagonist
(This could be a person or a
force; even society’s expectations
of the protagonist could be a
force against him/her)
Literary Devices
Part 2
Theme
- The lesson about life the author is
trying to get across in a story
Is the theme told to you directly at the
end of a story or implied?
In the children’s book Charlotte’s
Web, Charlotte, the spider, tells
Wilbur, the pig, that all living things
must die, and later on, she dies saving
his life.
The author was giving us a clue about
what would happen later – what is
that device called?
Foreshadowing
• The use in a literary work of clues
that suggests events what will
happen later in a story
Flashback
(this is almost the opposite of
foreshadowing)
• A flashback is when an author refers
back to something that previously
happened
Imagery
• The words used to appeal to the five
senses. It creates word pictures in
our minds while we read.
“The east wind came whipping across the
fields from higher ground. He stamped his
and blew upon is hands. In the distance
he could see the clay hills, white and
clean, against the heavy pallor of the sky”
(du Maurier 63).
We can feel / hear the wind and see the hill s and sky in our
minds!
Setting
• The time, place and background of
the story.
• The setting can change throughout a
story
What is the setting of your favorite
movie? Your favorite book?
Irony
Is using a word or phrase to mean
the exact opposite of its literal or
normal meaning.
What’s good Ma? (be mature)
What is the irony in this Vine?
Three Types of Irony
1. Dramatic - a difference in what a
character thinks and what the
reader/audience knows is true
2. Verbal - the writer says one thing and
means another
3. Situational - an event occurs that
contradicts the expectations of the
characters, the reader, or the audience
Which type of irony was in the Vine clip?
rd
3
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Do you speak the same in front of
your grandma as you do in front
of your friends?
I certainly don’t. I don’t speak the
same way in front you that I do at
home.
Probably not :)
Authors choose their words
carefully, too – this is called
their diction
Diction
The author’s word choice, including
the vocabulary used, the
appropriateness of the words, and the
vividness of the language.
Why would a short story author have to
choose their words very carefully?
• That moment when you’re in a scary
movie, and you KNOW the bad guy is
about to jump out from around the corner,
and your heart starts pounding a little, and
you start feeling a little nervous because
you’re afraid of what is going to happen
That is called SUSPENSE
The uncertainty or anxiety we feel
about what is going to happen
next in a story
Characterization
- Is the method an author uses that
reveals characters and their
personalities
Direct Characterization – a writer tells
us directly what a character is like or
what their motives are
Example: The doctor was bald and quite
impatient.
Indirect Characterization – In which a
writer shows us a character but
allows us to interpret for ourselves
the kind of person we are meeting
How do authors use indirect
characterization?
•Speech
•Appearance
•Private thoughts
•Actions and how others in the
story feel about them
Example: As the doctor’s head shone in
the light, he tapped his pen on the
clipboard while the patient slowly
described his symptoms.
Characters
• Static character: A character who doesn’t
change or learn a lesson during the story
• Dynamic character: A character who
develops and grows (changes) during the
course of the story
• Flat character: A character who shows
only one trait throughout the story
• Round character: A character who shows
many traits in a story, both the good
(virtues) and the bad (vices or faults)
Literary Elements
Part 3
Symbolism, Tone, and Mood
Symbolism
Person, place, thing, or event that
stands both for itself and for
something beyond itself.
Public symbols are symbols that are
widely recognized and accepted
Can you think of any public symbols?
Symbolism, Literary
Example
Symbolism
•Why would the eagle be chosen as a
symbol of the United States?
•What metaphors exist within the
symbol of the eagle when comparing
it to a nation?
1.
2.
3.
Symbolism
• Strength of an eagle’s wings…
• Sharp eyes…
• Largeness of the bird…
• Why do you think our forefathers
chose the eagle over Benjamin
Franklin’s proposed turkey?
Tone
- Tone is the attitude that an author
takes toward the audience, the
subject, or the character.
- Tone is conveyed through the author's
words and details.
Mood
- Mood is the emotions that you feel
while you are reading. Some
literature makes you feel sad, others
joyful, and sometimes angry.
The End